Haunted
by WaywardSoulCreation
Summary: The past tends to never stay where it belongs, even the things that we aren't aware of. Whispers from somewhere far beyond creep up and worm their way into our consciousness and root themselves there. Hazel Laurent is haunted by the ghosts of her past but also by a voice that she doesn't recognize. Most would think that she is suffering from schizophrenia. But that is not the case.
1. Chapter 1

I lay flat on my back, staring at the off white of the paint on the ceiling. I had been awoken harshly after the dream I had left me gasping for air. The dreams and the voice had become more frequent the longer that I stayed in town. But when I trailed away, even over night, the dreams and his voice didn't follow me. Naturally, no one seems to believe me. They chalk it up to mental illness, a psychotic break. Camilla firmly believes that the grief from my brother's passing is finally catching up with me. That the emotions that I refused to deal with are finally working their way to the surface.

She, along with her group of new found friends, have been endlessly encouraging me to seek "help". All, but one, ignoring my insistence that there is nothing wrong with me. They hide their concern behind thinly veiled questions like "How are you today?" Or "how did you sleep?". No matter what answer I give, they never seem to be satisfied. Which still seems to surprise me. Especially the days when Camilla alludes to the fact that this "break in my psyche" could also be caused by the fact that my memory is photographic. I can't forget a thing that I've seen or read, and my recall is nearly always perfect.

But they don't know what he says to me when I hear him. They don't know what he calls me. They can't hear the anguish in his voice. It's not like the voice is telling me to strip naked and run through the street screaming that there are squirrels in my blood. He's begging me to come find him, to release him from his prison.

If I told them, I don't think they'd believe me. Every day they attempt to pressure me into seeing someone, and every day I come closer to complying. To being put on medication only to prove to them that it doesn't work, that something supernatural is happening to me. I'm not talking demonic possession, I'm hardly religious. I'm also not talking vampires, well vampires in the Dracula sense, because I'm no virgin (whoops). But something unnatural is going on, even though I am well within the age for schizophrenia to manifest itself.

"And how are you today Hazel?" Camilla asks me, once again her concern thinly hidden behind a chipper voice. I glance at her figure standing in the doorway.

"I'm fine, no voice yet so far today." I tell her earnestly.

"Are you hungry?" She offers and I shake my head.

"I don't do breakfast." I respond and I can practically feel her scowl.

"You also didn't do dinner last night. Am I going to have to have someone hod you down while I stuff food down your throat?" She threatens and I shrug.

"You can try." I state nonchalantly as I swing my torso into a sitting position.

"I just haven't been feeling the idea of food lately."I offer with a light shrug.

"You understand that that isn't healthy, right?" She asks and I nod vigorously.

"Is there anything truly healthy about me right now? Remember, I hear voices." I mooch-whisper as I erupt onto my feet.

"You have me worried." She states with crossed arms.

"You're not my mother." I remind her. "I had one of those."

"And she did a piss poor job with you." She chides and I shrug.

"Believe me, I remember." I state with a mischievous smirk.

"That's the understatement of the year. What don't you remember?" She asks jokingly.

"Why I agreed to leave New Orléans for this place." I fire back with a lopsided grin.

"Because the men here are much more civilized?" She offers and I stifle a chuckle.

"I have yet to see that from anyone other than those Mikaelson boys you seem to be fond of. Especially, what's his name... Niklaus!" I announce and slap my hands together.

"I am not fond of Klaus." Camilla defends immediately.

"Ok sure you aren't, except I can practically hear you ripping his clothes off in your mind." I say as we emerge into the living room. There's a sharp rap on the front door and I peek through the frosted glass.

"Speak of the devil." I mutter and then toss a smirk at Camilla over my shoulder as I yank the door open.

"Klaus, did you know that Camilla enjoys un..."I begin before a pillow hits the side of my head and nearly topples me.

"Ignore her Klaus, she didn't get much sleep. She tends to get delirious and loses her verbal filter when she's sleep deprived." Camilla offers as I right myself.

"As I was saying. Camilla likes to undress you with her mind. Trust me, I've known her long enough to know her facial expressions." I blurt out before she can stop me. She stares at me horrified and I just grin at her triumphantly.

"I can't believe you just said that."

"I can't believe you haven't tried denying it." I say and then turn back to Klaus. "I don't actually know if that's what's going on inside her head, but its funny making her blush." I state and she smacks my arm surprisingly hard.

"What the hell Camilla!?" I explode as I grab my upper arm. "Jesus Christ you didn't have to try to break my arm." Camilla looks at me with a face of sheer panic as I stomp off, Klaus steps close to her and whispers something quietly. I slam the bathroom door, locking it, before I yank up my sleeve. I can see a deep purple bruise beginning to form and its tender to the touch. Anger wells inside me, not at Camilla because I deserved it, but at the bruise that is on my arm. The lights above the mirror flicker ominously before going out entirely. I hear Camilla let out a startled yelp, indicating that the power has gone out throughout the house. I heave a deep sigh before swinging open the bathroom door.

"I got it!" I announce loudly as I head towards the basement. I stand at the top of the stairs and pause for a moment.

"Hazel." A harsh whisper emits from my left and I whip my head around frantically, causing me to lose my balance. I tumble down the stairs in a series of incredibly loud thuds. I land on my left side, no air in my lungs whatsoever as the icy cement presses into my exposed skin. I can hear the rush of two pairs of feet at they comes to the top of the basement stairs. I let out a pitiful groan as I force myself into a sitting position.

"Hazel, you should definitely not move." Camilla tells me as I try to wave her off.

"You should listen to her." Klaus states and I refrain from rolling my eyes.

"I should definitely pay closer attention when I'm on stairs, is what I really should do." I tell the duo as I try to bring myself to my feet. I put pressure on my left hand to stand up and my wrist gives way and I crumple into a heap on the basement floor.

"That is not a good sign." I mutter into the dusty cement.

"Well no shit Sherlock." Camilla mutters.

"Thank you for your input Watson.." I respond quickly as I bring myself to a sitting position.

"I, the infamous Sherlock Holmes,"I announce with a vibrato, "have decided that I have a broken wrist."

"Your anger also shut off the freaking power."

"False. There's no way. I'd have to be some kind of witch to do that." I respond sarcastically and am only met with silence.


	2. Chapter 2

I sit feet dangling over the edge of the cot in the room I was assigned.

"Are you going to tell them about the voice?" Camilla asks and I can see a flicker of surprise on Klaus' face, which only lasts for a moment.

"I hadn't planned on it, why are you going to?" I ask and tilt my head slightly to the right.

"Camilla, are you going to have me committed?" I ask, fear creeping ever so slightly into my voice.

"You're hearing a voice Hazel! That's not normal!" She whispers harshly and I flinch in spite of myself. Her anger dissipates instantly, concern riddling her delicate features.

"I'm sorry Hazel." She says as I plant my head in my good hand.

"It-it's fine." I say and shake the fear from myself.

"Don't tell them Camilla, please, I'm not being told to do anything dangerous. It's fine." I plead quietly.

"But its not normal." She pleads in return.

"Nothing about me is normal. Not even my memory. I remember everything, even the things I'd much rather forget." I tell her and see that I've caught Klaus' full attention now.

"Photographic memory, Niklaus." I tell him casually. "If you'll allow me the phrase."

"Did you know that the term 'witch' is gender neutral Hazel?" He asks and I shake my head.

"I did not, but I might not ever forget that now." I tell him as my doctor sweeps into the room. He turns towards Camilla and Klaus.

"Can we have the room please?" He asks pleasantly as Camilla gives me one final pleading look.

"So, it says here that you fell down your basement stairs?" He asks and I nod.

"Did you lose your balance?" He asks and I heave a hefty sigh.

"I heard a voice whisper my name... It's not the first time I've heard it. It doesn't tell me to hurt anyone, just to come find him." I tell the doctor and then purse my lips.

"Okay... so I'm going to cast that wrist of yours and then I'm going to bring down a psychiatrist." He says wit ha hint of fear in his tone. He once again sweeps from the room and Camilla peaks inside.

"They're probably gonna commit me after this." I tell her, indicating that I let my secret slip.

"But you won't believe me about this not being all in my head." I tell her.

Within the next hour, my wrist is casted and I surprisingly find my self with two prescriptions. One for pain meds, the other for antipsychotics.

"I thought I had to have more than one appointment to even be considered for medication." I tell Camilla and furrow my brow in confusion.

"You said it yourself, the voice isn't telling you to do anything dangerous." She offers but a prickling sensation on the back of my neck tells me she's lying.

"What aren't you telling me?" I ask suddenly and she stops dead in her tracks.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not hiding anything from you." She says and I stare at her for a long moment.

"You're still lying to me, but I'm not gonna push it. Eventually you'll have to tell me." I tell her calmly.

"There's nothing wrong! I'm not pulling the wool over your eyes." She tries to convince and I just offer a small shrug.

"Wanna stop for a burger?" She asks and I give a small shrug again.

"They put you on some pretty hefty pain meds, I'm not letting you take any on an empty stomach." She says as she pulls into the parking lot of the Mystic Grille. I immediately recognize Klaus' car.

"Are you worried about the meds they put me on or more worried about your chances of getting into bed with Niklaus?" I ask her and she blushes a deep red.

"This is purely coincidental." She says and I roll my eyes.

"I hope that true, because if not, you're beginning to seem like a bit of a stalker. Then I won't be the only one needing help." I tell her as we walk in. I glance around the room and find Niklaus at a table with his siblings. Camilla practically drags me over and I subdue another eye roll.

"Hey guys!" Camilla says sounding overly chipper and I over exaggerate a flinch.

"I heard you took a trip down the stairs." Rebekah states and I shrug.

"Did you also hear that I'm certifiably crazy now?" I ask sarcastically. "You hear one little voice and bam! Antipsychotics." I state and Camilla throws me a withering glance. I turn her and just smirk and then offer a shrug.

"Ignore her, its been a long day." She states and I frown.

"I am not a toddler Camilla." I tell and she rolls her eyes.

"Then stop acting like one." She says jokingly and I frown deeper.

"I'll remember that Camilla." I tell her and she rolls her eyes again.

"I know Hazel, believe me I know." She tells me and a look of confusion crosses Elijah's face.

"Oh dude, so get this." I say focusing on him. "I've got like a really good memory. Photographic in a sense but also like if you spew a random string of numbers at me I would be able to recite them."

"It's actually terrifying." Camilla says earnestly.

"Came in handy during high school." I say and then notice that someone is missing.

"What? Kol not up to joining you guys or something?' Camilla asks.

"Why were you missing me?" His voice Emirates from over my shoulder and I stifle a yelp.

"You know, hearing disembodied voices is exactly how I got this cast in the first place." I tell him calmly.

"Cam, I'm really not that hungry so I'm going to just go. I'll see you later." I tell her, "i have prescriptions to get filled anyways."

I sit in the middle of my full sized bed, my grimiore sitting in front of me. I run my fingers lightly over part of my inheritance. The pages inside already completely familiar to me. I figure I can play dumb about this for as long as I need. Chalk it all up to the voice that I hear. Pretend that I am just another pawn in their game. Be oblivious.

After all, it is just a game isn't it?


	3. Chapter 3

I fling the grimoire under my bed as the cascade of footsteps rush up the stairs. The book lands underneath my bed with a muffled thump as I sit up straight. Camilla bursts into my bedroom, baggy in hand, and she tosses it at my head. It flops lightly into my lap as a puzzled look crosses my face.

"Rebekah saw that and thought of you." Camilla offers with a light shrug.

"Oooh, am I charity case then?" I respond with light sarcasm, "I'm kidding, by the way. Rebekah is a good person." I tell her as I spring up from my bed.

"Have you started your meds?" Camilla asks and I nod.

"Did you sleep last night?" She asks and I shrug.

"I got caught up in a good book." I lie effortlessly and cross my arms. Camilla squints her eyes at me for a long moment before accepting my excuse.

"Have you heard _anything_?" She asks and I shake my head once.

"That doesn't mean a damned thing either." I remind her. "I promise you that I am not crazy. I might be the sanest one of us all."

"You might be a tad more sane than Kol." Camilla jokes and I roll my eyes.

"You shouldn't make fun of your potential future brother-in-law like that." I chide with a ghost of a smile playing across my lips.

"Dude, speaking of Kol, I think you've got him hooked." She tells me and a laugh bubbles from my chest.

"That's new." I say trying to refrain from any further laughter.

"What do you mean?" She asks and I shrug.

"You've witnessed first hand that I'm not entirely the most whole person." I say and tap my temple lightly.

"Unrelated, but, Rebekah wanted me to invite you out for a night on the town. I think you could use it." Camilla tells me and I glance down at the brace on my arm.

"I'll make sure to make my brace look especially sexy." I tell Camilla and she covers her face as the laughter rips from her chest.

"Just tell me when I need to be ready by." I tell her and then shoo her from my bedroom. The door closes behind her with a light click as I let out a large breath. I rub my temples lightly as I pace the length of my bedroom.

"Come find me..." The voice whispers out, agony in its voice. I bite down hard on my lip and flinch a little at the pain. I grab a pillow from my bed and press it tight against my face and let out a gut wrenching scream. The stress is eating me away, lying to my closest friend, pretending to be entirely oblivious is becoming too much.

It's a long game, one that I can't give up yet. For once, maybe I can prove that I'm not useless.

My shoes click down the stairs, as my hair falls against the exposed skin on my shoulders. The brace is gone from my wrist, since I always have to be defiant and its not the first sprain I've experienced. I erupt through my front door and onto my porch. A mildly concerned looking Camilla stands near the door, hand perched to knock.

"I'm ready Camilla." I tell her with an excited smirk.

"Where's your brace Hazel?" She asks and I shrug.

"Not my first wrist sprain. I'll be fine." I tell her with a dismissive wave. I raise one eyebrow as I notice the backseat of the car already has a passenger.

"Is this a family affair?" I ask Camilla calmly.

"Rebekah might've invited one other person." Camilla offers and I sigh and put pressure on the bridge of my nose.

"Too late to back out now." I mutter to myself and make my way towards the parked cars.

"What's going on?" I announce loudly, putting on an energetic voice as I near the cars.

"Red is certainly your color, Hazel." Kol remarks and I roll my eyes.

"Do you say that to all the girls, or am I just special?" I ask and tilt my head to the right with a challenging smirk on my face. Camilla coughs to cover her laughter as she grabs my upper arm and directs me to the other car.

"Be nice." She whispers in my ear and I can't suppress my grin.

"I am being nice, Cam, it's all part of the game." I respond cryptically and she gives me a confused glance from the side of her eye.

We emerge into a club that I hadn't ever heard of before. Camilla beelines for the bar and I hang back and look over the crowd.

"Can I get you a drink?" Kol offers from over my shoulder.

"Not supposed to drink on my medication." I tell him with a shrug. "But thank you." I respond. We get ushered to a table in what appears to be the VIP area. I pause for a moment, considering sitting and just watching. I shrug once before heading towards the crowd of tightly packed bodies moving in time with the beat that is being pumped from the speakers.

"Heeey brother..." Wafts out over the crowd as I feel myself get pulled towards the center. I move with the other bodies a smile fighting its way to the surface. We move together, I'm not sure who is pressed against me, but I don't care. I can see another guy eyeing me up a few feet away. He keeps his eyes trained on me as I dance.

Before I even really know it, the slightly intoxicated Camilla is pulling me out of all the bodies.

"Holy shit, I thought I lost you to the crowd."She says and I glance at her.

"I was having fun Camilla." I remind her.

"Yes I just saved you from doing someone stupid." She says and then clamps a hand over her mouth. "I meant something!" She says quickly and I laugh.

"Looks like you have a certain someone on your mind Cam." I tease and she glares at me.

"For the thousandth time, I do not have feelings for Klaus." She urges and I raise my eyebrows.

"Of course you don't, you only have one?" I tease further and she slaps my arm. There's a loud smacking sounding as skin meets skin and I yelp in surprise.

"Jesus, sorry." I mutter and rub the now red place on my arm.

"We gotta go." She tells me as she drags me to the waiting car. I climb into the backseat next to Kol, who won't even look at me.

I fall into my bed at home, and fall asleep nearly immediately.

 _I clamber over the decaying tree trunk, all sounds gone. A twig cracks beneath me, the sound deafening in the silence of the forest. I walk slowly, almost in a floating manor, forward. Deeper into the woods, it gets progressively darker as the foliage becomes denser and blocks out the light. Every once in a while the voice wafts to me, beckoning me closer and closer until I finally drop to my knees. Frantically I dig at the moist soil, like a rabid animal. My breathing becomes rapid and shallow and I dig faster. I don't notice when my nails start to break off and bleed. The voice is silent now, as I dig and dig and dig in an endless cycle._

I jolt awake and throw back my blankets. I can feel the color drain from my face as I notice that the bottom half of my legs are caked with blackened mud. I look down at my hands as nausea hits, the majority of the nails on either hand are broken off, the remaining ones have blackened dirt lodged under them.

"What the hell..." I mutter quietly.

"Getting closer Hazel." the voice says, sounding stronger.


	4. Chapter 4

I peel the sweat soaked blankets from my legs and perch myself at the edge of my bed. I mutter a few "fucks" under my breath before I walk to my little private bathroom. I swing open the medicine cabinet and pluck out the little orange bottle of antipsychotics. I twist of the lid and dump a bunch into my palm. I consider _it_ for a moment before I let the pills fall from my hand and into the toilet. They make little splashy noises as they meet the water. I stare down down at the pills before flushing them down the drain. I toss the orange bottle into the trash and then nearly scream as someone pounds on my bathroom door.

"Hazel?" Camilla practically yells from the other side of the door, a hint of concern in her voice.

"Did you, uh, need something Cam?" I ask confusion littering my tone.

"Just checking on you." She says and I heave an exasperated sigh and press my fingers to my temples. I fling open the bathroom door and my heart nearly stops in my chest. Camilla has my grimoire out from underneath my bed and is looking at me. She looks hurt mostly, but also incredibly confused. Kol emerges and I stare at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Why are you in my bedroom?" I ask and cross my arms, immediately on the defense.

"Don't act like you don't want me here, love." He responds and I raise my eyebrows.

"It must be fun living in your world, thinking that every girl you come into contact with wants to jump into bed with you." I remark as I walk to Camilla and pluck my grimoire from her hands and stuff it behind my back. Camilla gives me a dark look before standing and crossing her arms this time.

"Is there something you need to tell me, Hazel?" She asks and once again I raise my eyebrows.

"Only if you have something you need to tell me Camilla." I respond flatly. She falters for a moment before becoming cold.

"You seem to already have it figured out." She remarks coldly.

"Then we both have our secrets, then don't we? Just some of us were born into ours." I tell her calmly.

"Hazel."

"Camilla."

"Hazel, are you a witch?"

"Are you a vampire, Camilla?"

We stand in silence for a moment, staring at one another. My arms are crossed as I stare at her. I'll admit that I'm mildly hurt that she hid this from me. She _chose_ this. I was born into being a witch. I didn't ask for it, if I could return the "gift" I would.

"I can't believe you wouldn't tell me." She starts and I interrupt her.

"I was _born_ into this Camilla. I didn't have a choice in the matter. I didn't ask to be conceived or born. I imagine you had at least the slightest bit of free will when you took the blood, didn't you?" I ask her and the words she was going to say dissipate.

"Believe me when I say that if I could return what I was born with I would. It's not worth the trouble. Not even a little bit." I tell her calmly.

"You're a witch but not proud of it?" Kol interjects and I turn to him.

"How can I be proud of something that made my own mother hate me?" I ask him calmly and Camilla's eyes widen. She is well aware of what tends to happen when I bring up my mother.

"Of course my mother was also a drugged out whore who preferred the streets of New Orleans over her home where her two children were. But that's neither here nor there. Considering that that lifestyle caught up with her, what, seven years ago?" I ask Camilla and she shakes her head at me.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Kol says sounding earnest.

"My mother was a surprisingly abusive woman. She doesn't deserve your sorrow Kol. And I don't need your pity." I tell him and then turn to Camilla.

"So are we gonna be angry at each other for a while or are we both gonna accept that we were in the wrong and move on?" I ask and she fakes a sigh.

"I guess I can just move on. Even though my best friend hid something so important from me." Se says and I roll my eyes. I turn on my heels towards Kol.

"The both of you need to go so I can get dressed." I say as Camilla steps into my bathroom. I'm sandwiched between the two of them. Camilla behind me and Kol in front of my escape route.

"Where are your meds Hazel?" Camilla asks, barely masking her anger.

"I flushed them." I state in a chipper tone and flash a grin at Kol.

"Why did you flush your meds?" She asks, the anger seeping through a little more.

"They weren't working." I respond.

"You're still hearing the voice?" She asks, all anger dropping from her voice.

"Why else wouldn't they be working?" I respond sounding confused.

"So then it's something else..." She states, her voice trailing off.

"Have I not been saying that this entire time?" I whisper loudly to Kol, who has to hide a smirk.

"Listen here smart ass. That was before I knew about, well you know." She says and then a light bulb goes off.

"We could ask the rest of the Mikaelsons." She says.

"No we can't. The rest of the Mikaelsons don't need to know." I say "Kol probably shouldn't even know. But considered that he just kinda barged into my bedroom there was no way around him finding out."

"How do you know he won't tell them anyways?" Camilla asks and I shrug.

"I don't, but we'll ask them if he does. I have a feeling that we shouldn't be practically delivering me right to Niklaus. Especially since he knows about the other thing." I tell Camilla.

"Do you not trust Klaus?" She asks and I shrug.

"I don't trust a lot of people Camilla, it's nothing personal." I tell her before shooing them out of my bedroom.

A few minutes later when I'm properly dressed I walk downstairs and only find Camilla waiting.

"I had another idea." She states.

"Lay it on me." I tell her fully interested.

"We could ask the Salvatores." She offers and I shrug.

"Worth a shot I guess."

I slam the door on my car hard and grip the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white.

"Hazel stay calm." Camilla says sounding worried.

"You want me to stay calm when I was just treated like I needed to be committed by a dude who doesn't even know me?" I ask her and she sighs.

"That's just Damon." She offers and I glare.

"Yeah well he's a dick." I tell her and she chuckles. The anger bubbles up even further as I stare out the windshield. All of a sudden all of the windows on my car shatter, littering glass all over me and then the horn starts blaring and the light flashing.

"What the hell?" Camilla says as I clamber from the car. The door to the Boarding House flings open and the Salvatore brothers launch outside.

"What happened?" Stefan asks sounding confused.

"Literally everything shattered." Camilla says. I bring a hand up to my face and press my finger tips against my skin, when I remove them I notice blood staining the tips.

"Nice." I mutter to myself.

"Okay but how?" Damon asks.

"Probably because you pissed of Hazel by treating her like a lunatic." Camilla states. "She is a witch after all."

"I've never seen a witch completely manage to bust all the windows on a car and fry the electric components." Stefan says and I shrug.

"Well now you have." I reply dryly.

"You're bleeding..."Stefan says and takes a step towards me. I step back and shrug.

"It's fine. I don't think I have any glass sticking out of my skin." I say as I press my sleeve to my face to staunch some of the blood.

I weirdly find myself standing next to Camilla in the foyer of the Mikaelson house.

"Stay right here, I'm gonna go locate a first aid kit." She says before she walks off. Like an obedient puppy I stay where she left me. Rebekah passes by but then immediately loops back.

"What happened?" She asks and I shrug.

"I fought some glass and the glass won." I respond nonchalantly. She looks at me quizzically for a moment.

"Actually I accidentally bust out all of the windows on my car and the glass decided to fight back." I tell her and she looks even more confused.

"How did you manage that?" She asks and I shrug.

"No sense in hiding it, is there?" I ask mostly myself.

"I'm a witch Rebekah. Not very proud of it but here I am." I tell her and she nods as it all comes together for her.

"I found the first aid." Camilla says as she returns, she looks between me and Rebekah.

"I've decided that I'm going to start owning who I am. If people try to use me, they try to use me. It's not like I'm not used to it."


	5. Chapter 5

Camilla erupts through my front door, nearly making me spill my coffee on myself. She tosses a thick envelope onto my lap. I set my mug on the end table and rip into the envelope. I heave a heavy sigh.

"They're throwing a ball?" I ask Camilla and she nods rather excitedly.

"I can't go, I don't own a ballgown. There's no way I'm getting on by..." I say as I look closer at the invitation. "tonight..." I say dryly.

"You're going." Camilla says with a tone of finality.

"Do you want me to show up wearing a dish towel?" I ask in a voice laden with sarcasm.

"I'm sure Kol would enjoy it." She remarks and I roll my eyes.

"Don't tell me that you're going to start saying that Kol has a thing for me?" I ask as I lean into my couch and cross my arms.

"I'm almost positive he has a thing for you Hazel." She remarks and I roll my eyes again.

"He probably has a thing for anything that breathes Cam." I remark and she frowns at me.

"That's not very nice." She states and I shrug.

"I'm not very nice." I respond lightly, "And I'm not going unless you want me to show up in jeans and give dear Rebekah an aneurysm."

"I'm sure we can figure something out." Camilla states. "We could try shopping. It would seriously mean so much to me if you went."

"Is this to prove I'm not nuts?" I ask as I drag myself to my feet.

"No. I just know you'll look damn good in black tie attire. If Kol doesn't feel something for you now, he will after tonight."

"Why are you fixating on Kol?" I ask suddenly as I slip into my shoes.

"I have a feeling." Camilla offers and I raise my eyebrows.

"Really, our mission needs to be getting Niklaus to notice you, my friend." I say and clap her on the shoulder as she turns a wonderful shade of scarlet.

"And this time you don't deny it. Is there something you're not telling me?" I ask suddenly and then my eyes go wide.

"You've already slept with him!" I announce loudly and clap my hands on either side of my face.

"Shhh. The whole block doesn't need to hear you." She whispers harshly as the laughter rips from my chest.

"Why-why are you laughing?" She asks and I shake my head.

"Because things are going well for once. Despite well. y'know, the voice I hear." I say with a dismissive wave of my hand.

"Okay, if we don't find a dress I don't go." I tell Camilla as we clamber into my car.

I stand in front of the nearly 360 mirror in a deep jade green dress. It's an off shoulder number that cascades to the floor. My brown hair tickles my back as I turn in one full rotation. A small bit of excitement bubbles up in my chest.

"Can I see?" Camilla announces and I push one of the mirrors aside.

"Holy shit Hazel." She says and I crack a grin. "Please tell me you're getting it. You look so fierce."

"I feel fierce."

"You're seriously glowing and I love it." She says and I giggle.

"Looks like I've got a ball to attend then." I remark.

I smooth my hands over the embroidery on the bodice of my dress as I wait. Camilla told me she was going to send someone to drive me over. She called it "arriving in style" which really she wants me to arrive like I'm a princess or something. Orrrrr she's sending Kol, which would be just as interesting. There's a sharp rap at my door and I swing it open. I don't even groan when I meet Kol's eyes. He looks me up and down for a moment and pauses on my eyes.

"Your gown matches your eyes." He remarks and I give a small shrug.

"It was entirely by accident." I tell him as I step onto the porch.

"You have beautiful eyes." He says honestly and I can feel the beginnings of blush on my cheeks.

"Thank you Kol." I respond as he opens the car door for me. We ride to his home in relative silence.

"Hazel, find me." The voice whispers, louder than ever and I have to refrain from clamping my hands over my ears. Instead I just tense as we pull in front of Kol's home which is bustling with people.

"I see you invited the whole town." I say nonchalantly.

"Rebekah did." Kol says and I nod.

"Leave it to Beks." I say as I get out of the car. Kol puts his hand on the small of my back and I become overly aware of the rest of him. He's a lo closer to me than I ever anticipated him being, which means he can probably hear my heart beat picking up. He guides me up their path and to the door.

We step inside and I almost immediately catch Camilla's eye. She raises her eyebrows at me and I roll my eyes in turn.

"Well someone cleans up well." Damon says as he approaches me.

"Funny, I could almost say the same thing about you. But my mother raised me to not lie." The words roll off my tongue before I can stop them and then I can hear Kol choke back a laugh as Damon's face falls slightly.

"Hazel!" Camilla says also trying not to laugh.

"I'm sorry I was raised to be honest." I say with an unconcerned shrug.

"You and I both know you're just being sassy." She says and I shrug.

"But am I wrong?" I say jokingly and that finally gets her to break.

"You're on one tonight, aren't you?" Damon asks and I shrug.

"This is just what my personality is really like when I'm comfortable." I respond. "One second I'm being a proper lady and then _whoosh_ filter is gone and I'm getting sloppy drunk and making poor decisions."

"Unfortunately, I'm almost positive I would be murdered if I got sloppy drunk here." I say and both Camilla and Kol nod in agreement.

"And considering that I haven't grown tired of living yet I must not cross the line between tipsy and sloppy."

When the party is called to order, I find myself standing next to Camilla. The Mikaelsons stand on the stairs and there are two faces I don't recognize. I watch the face of who I assume to be their mother, and get a strange feeling. I'm barely registering what is being said by Elijah. I manage to catch the word waltz but that's about it. As the crowd breaks up, their mother looks over in my directions and we lock eyes for a full minute. I can feel myself straighten up and make myself taller in defense. She looks away quickly, but I see the glint of thoughts in her eyes.

"Care to dance?" Kol whispers in my left ear nearly making me jump.

"I don't know how to waltz." I say as he takes my hand anyways.

We make small talk as he leads me in the dance, but I can't shake the feeling I got from his mother. When the group disbands I find myself lingering on the very edges of the crowd. I'm retreated away from the chatter and drinking.

"You must be Hazel." An unfamiliar masculine voice says from behind me.

"Depends on whose asking." I respond and then cringe at the cliche.

"I'm Finn Mikaelson. You seem to be familiar with my siblings."

"You could say that." I remark with a dismissive shrug.

"Our mother would like to speak to you, if you could spare a moment." He says with light sarcasm in his tone.

"Lead the way Finn." I say as I turn to follow him.

He closes us in the study and I find his mother standing near the roaring fireplace.

"There are very few people who I have felt such power in." She says and I cross my arms.

"I don't know what you're saying."

"You are a witch, are you not?"

"Yeah but not a very good one."

"You lack confidence, Hazel. But you have power, power unlike anything that I've felt in a while."

"Is there something that you needed from me, Mrs. Mikaelson?" I ask politely.

"Esther. And I would like your help." She tells me and a look of confusion crosses my face.

"With what?"

"Killing my children." She says and I keep a neutral look locked onto my face even though I'm internally panicking. Thoughts race around my head at a mile a minute.

"What do you say Hazel?" Esther asks me and I shrug nonchalantly.

"Why the hell not." I respond darkly.


End file.
